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“Mango-licious” Mango Cupcakes

And when you get one that’s perfectly ripe, nothing can beat a bite of that fragrant, sweet, juicy, and downright luscious goodness. In fact, I have so many memories of my grandma slicing up ripened mangoes and handing me the seed to gnaw on—my favorite part. We even used to snack on green mangoes dipped in a little salt with chili—mmm!

With that said, I have had some difficulties translating my favorite fruit into cupcake form. Too often the end product came out too “bread-like” with only faint traces of mango flavor. When I came across the Cupcake Project’s Mango Cupcakes post, I found that she too had the same challenges but had good results when using pure mango extract. I took a try at her recipe with a few tweaks and am happy to report that this was my best attempt yet—though I think there’s still room for some improvement. Although the cake itself yielded MUCH more of the mango flavor than I was able to achieve before, it still didn’t have as much as I wanted. (Even though I used fresh mango puree, mango extract, AND mango yogurt in the batter.) So to heighten the flavor, I went for mango overkill by topping the cuppies with a mango buttercream, mango coulis and fresh mango slices.

And that did the trick. “Mango-liciousness” achieved. :)

Taking a big bite of the cuppie with all of its components put a smile on this gal’s face. The buttercream offered the fragrant mango profile that I was looking for while the coulis added the concentrated mango flavor. I had originally considered using dried mangoes to top the cuppies but settled on fresh mango slices as it gave a wonderful texture contrast.

Overall, I was pretty happy but if you’re going to give this one a try, you’ve GOT to have mango extract (BIG thanks to my sis who ordered mine for me online). I also suggest using fresh mango puree as opposed to mango nectar as it offers a deeper flavor.

Mango Coulis: In a saucepot, combine the chopped mango, lemon juice, water and sugar together. Bring the mixture up to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes or until the fruit is very tender. Pour the mixture into a food processor and puree until smooth. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

Mango Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tin with paper liners. Into a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each, then beat in yogurt and mango extract. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with mango puree and beginning and ending with flour. Be careful to not over mix. Pour batter into cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. While cupcakes are cooling, prepare frosting.

Mango Buttercream: In a large mixer bowl, whip the butter for several minutes until very light and fluffy. Add mango puree and mango extract. Whip until combined. Slowly add the confectioners sugar until the frosting becomes thicker and stiff. Add sour cream and whip until desired piping consistency.

Fill piping bag with the frosting and pipe large swirls on top of cooled cupcakes. Drizzle mango coulis over the cupcakes and top with fresh slices of mangoes.

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25 thoughts on ““Mango-licious” Mango Cupcakes”

not sure who appreciated them more, the moms or the kids! i wasn’t sure whether i would like these since i don’t usually like many cakes with fruit fillings. however, i am a convert after these! feel free to use us/me as guinea pigs for any of your future creations!

I luv your website. I have one queston. I am goin to attempt to make this and while i was searching for mango extract..many of the cake supplies stores suggested that i use Mango oil instead of Extract. because of the alcohol that the extract has..what do you think? and if so..how much of the Mango Oil will I use? Thanks.

Hi! This recipe sounds really good and I am going to attempt making it this saturday because we have a cookout on sunday and I have been requested to bring a sweet. Since everyone that will be attending loves mangos, I thought I’d make a cupcake. However, I don’t have time to order the extract so could I replace the extract with Nectar? and for the yogurt in the cupcakes could i use greek yogurt? Thanks! =)

Hi Bianca! You could replace the extract w/ nectar but you won’t get the same flavor intensity. When it comes to that, I think the most important this is to utilize extremely sweet and ripened mangoes to get the fullest flavors. I have the most success w/ the Ataulfos varietals.

As for the greek yogurt, I couldn’t be certain on that as I’ve never tried baking with it before. My initial instinct would say that it would be a tad on the heavier side and it’s much denser than your run of the mill yogurts. But if you do give the greek yogurt a try, let me know as I’m curious to see if it makes any difference :)

SO sorry for the delayed response! I took fresh, ripened mango and pureed it in a blender. As for the yogurt, I found it at my local grocery store and have also seen it at Whole Foods and Trader Joes. It may be seasonal item though. Cheers!

Hey..am currently trying out the recipe and need your quick attention…In mango coulis, you havent mentioned the quantity/unit for water..it can make a difference. Please reply as soon as you see this. thanks.

Was wondering, for the buttercream, if I wanted to sub the milk (mine would be mint-infused milk, I’m going for a mango mojito cupcake) for the sour cream, would the amounts be the same? Also, any suggestions for getting some rum into the icing? :)

These are phenomenal – especially the buttercream! I included some chopped dehydrated mango in the batter, and it was a great addition, but these would have been fantastic without it.
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!

I know this is an olllld post. But I had two ripe mangos at home and thought about this frosting. I didn’t have mango extract so I added ginger powder to bring out the flavor of the mango. It worked like a charm!